In my last post I mentioned that we had just completed our Alaska trip with Fantasy Tours. We were back on our own, working our way to Jasper. We needed to find an overnight location between Smithers, British Columbia and Jasper, Alberta. We ended up at the Terracana Ranch Resort, just east of McBride. The resort is beautiful. It is situated on a hill overlooking a river and surrounded by mountains. The RV park was just recently added and we…
We departed Haines and headed towards Stewart, British Columbia with overnight stops in Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Dease Lake. The landscape just north of Haines is spectacular. You travel alongside two mountain ranges. The first is within the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park. The second mountain range is within the Kluane National Park. Since our route took us back through the village of Haines Junction we just had to stop at the Village Bakery one final time. We stocked up on some frozen…
In order to get to Haines from Valdez you have to go back through Canada. It is a long 675 mile drive. We did it over 2.5 days. The first day we drove from Valdez to Tok. We stayed at the same campground we did on our way into Alaska (the Tok RV Village Campground). The trip was pleasantly uneventful. The next day we drove from Tok, AK to Deception Bay, Yukon. We had previously stayed here on our way…
We stopped one last time at the Wild Honey Bistro in Homer to enjoy a Reindeer Sausage Crepe before heading up the road to Kenai for a three night stay at the Diamond M Ranch Resort. After setting up the motorhome in Kenai Charlie and I took a drive north along the coastline to the Captain Cook State Recreation Area. Most of the drive was tree-lined, as was the recreation area, so views of Cook Inlet were limited. There are…
OMG!!! I could not wait to get to Homer. Charlie booked a bear sightseeing trip for us out of Homer back in April. Since then I had been anxiously waiting for the trip to materialize. I was so excited about getting close to the grizzly bears and photographing them fishing for salmon along the river in the Katmai National Preserve. We booked our trip with Beluga Air (http://www.belugaair.com). It is a small family owned business. Wes owns and flies the…
We spent 4 nights at the Stoney Creek RV Park in Seward, a beautiful area at the tip of the Kenai Fjords National Park. The main feature of this national park is the 700-square mile Harding Icefield. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from this icefield. Shortly after parking the motorhome we ventured into town. We took a tour of the local aquarium. I thought it was a little over-priced considering they do not have a lot of exhibits. However, the exhibits…
On our way from Denali to Anchorage we took a side trip over to the quaint little town of Talkeetna. It is reminiscent of a hippie-town where local artists and musicians congregate. The town is a launching point for mountain climbers preparing to trek up Denali. We stopped by the Talkeetna National Ranger station where many of the climbers register. A video about the climb was playing. We found it very interesting. After the video we listened to a mountain…
Wow! Just Wow! I LOVED Denali and the surrounding area. I finally felt like the long drive to Alaska was worth it when we entered the beautiful Denali National Park. Denali was established as a park in 1917 for the purpose of protecting Dall sheep, which were being over-hunted at the time. They seem to be doing well now. We found some grazing high up on a mountain. The park’s size and purpose grew over time. Today, the park is…
Skagway is a small town in southeast Alaska. It is a popular stop for cruise ships that travel along the Inside Passage. The town is comprised of gold-rush-era buildings which are preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad run vintage locomotives between Skagway, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. The train travels parallel with Highway 2, the only road into the town of Skagway. There are beautiful views of the…
Well, so much for trying to keep up with this blog while traveling through Alaska. I’ve been subjected to an overwhelming amount of ‘eye-candy’ since my last post. There is so much to see and do in Alaska! I’ll try to make this post as brief as possible. Although I think that will be tough! To begin, we met up with Fantasy Tours in Ferndale, WA on June 24th. It is our first group tour, and our first time to…